Feasibility study underway for Eel River Valley swimming pool

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The McLean Complex off Newburg Road in Fortuna has offered space for a community pool (the large pile covered with white plastic in photo) but the developers have said they will not pay for construction or maintenance. A feasibility study is underway to gather information on having a community pool in Fortuna for serving the Eel River Valley. (Mary Bullwinkel — For the Times-Standard)

Can the Eel River Valley afford to build and sustain a community pool? That is the main question to be answered by a feasibility study being done by an aquatic consulting firm from Southern California.

The firm Counsilman-Hunsaker is doing the study and an April 30 forum is scheduled in Fortuna to allow the community to express their opinion on a community pool.

“It will be an opportunity for the public to give feedback,” said Abe Stevens, chair of the Rohner Community Recreation and Park District Board of Directors, “(and) it will be a gauge of how much community interest there is in having a pool.”

The Rohner Community Recreation and Parks District was initially established in the 1960s with the purpose of “overseeing the planning, acquisition, and construction of a community pool.” That mission was never accomplished, although the district remained in place. Last year, it was revitalized with the appointment of new board members and a renewed enthusiasm for exploring the possibility of a community pool in Fortuna.

The feasibility study “will help identify community needs and identify the appropriate size of the pool. We don’t want to overbuild a pool,” Stevens said, adding, “but we also don’t want it to be too small.”

He said the study will look at the Eel River Valley in terms of population, demographics and potential pool users.

Other questions to be answered by the study will be the cost to build a pool, the cost to operate it and ways to pay for it.

A “bare bones” budget feasibility study is expected to cost $18,000 and the Rohner Community Recreation and Park District has budgeted $15,000 to help cover that cost. Local groups and organizations have also been contacted to secure additional donations and/or grants to help pay for the study. It is anticipated that results of the study will be available this summer.

Stevens said there might also be grant money available to help build a community pool in the Eel River Valley, from Proposition 68, approved last year by the California voters.

Prior to the April 30 public forum which takes place at 5:30 p.m. at the Fortuna Monday Club, researchers will be meeting with small groups from the health care field, schools, and competitive swim teams, to discuss interest levels in a community pool.